Resident Evil: Program Prey
by Zombiehugger
Summary: Ryan, a new student at the Raccoon University is thrown head first into one of Umbrella's new programs. Designed after the mansion incident, this new program was created to harbor more control over their bio-weapons. Chap 2 is up!
1. A Warm Welcoming

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil, never have and sadly, never will.

A/N: Just something I wrote while I couldn't think of anything for the Outbreak story. Hope you like it.

--

The punch sent Ryan reeling. Hoping it wouldn't leave a mark; he rubbed his cheek and stood back up from his knees. He wasn't expecting anything to come from the little altercation they were having, but low-and-behold, the kid sucker punched him. Ducking swiftly, Ryan dodged the second punch that he knew was coming. Ryan didn't want to have to fight back, because he knew no good could come from it, but his quick thinking wasn't going to stop the hulking mass before him.

Using his right hand, Ryan deflected a blow aimed for his face and pushed the kid off to the side. He went down low and knocked the kid's legs out from under him. The roaring scream from the rapidly forming onlookers blared all around.

Ryan couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of hopelessness. It was his first day in this damned school and already he was in a fight. The huge figure before him got to his knees and pushed himself up, turning to face Ryan once more.

"Shouldn't have done that." He said wiping an invisible trail of blood from his lip with his thumb. With a loud growl, he ran at Ryan, bent low with both hands spread out to either side. Ryan waited until it was too late for the kid to change course and sidestepped effortlessly. Using the kid's forward momentum, Ryan pushed down on his back, forcing the kid to the ground, sliding to a stop.

"Look, I'm sorry man, just please stop before anyone gets hurt." Ryan said to the kid on the ground. He moved to try to reason with the kid once more when the kid suddenly grabbed Ryan's leg and pulled. The world seemed to topple over as Ryan crashed to the ground. The sudden shock was inundating.

A mere heartbeat later, the kid was on top of Ryan. His arm cocked back and uncoiled. Pain shot through Ryan's body as his head smacked against the concrete from the force of the punch. For a second the world went black, but soon came back into focus just in time for Ryan to see the next blow coming. He moved his head to the side, receiving a glancing hit instead of the intended one. Blow after blow, Ryan did his best to protect his face, but as soon as he tried to bring his hands up, the kid pushed them away and pinned them down with his massive legs.

Struggling just to remain conscious, Ryan did all he could to free his arm, but he feared that under the kid's weight his arms were going numb. In a last ditch effort, Ryan brought up his knee and slammed it hard into the kid's back. He jerked forward, but other than that, nothing seemed to happen. Rolling his head to the right once more, Ryan brought his knee up again smacking it hard into the soft meaty part of the kid's lower back. Crying out in pain, the kid shifted his weight and reached for his back to comfort the fresh pain. Using the opening, Ryan hit the same spot once more and rolled to the side. Without a firm position, the kid lost his balance and fell to the ground. Warily, Ryan staggered to his feet. He fought the sensation of exhaustion intoxicating him and tried to stop everything from moving so much. His legs wouldn't hold him, so he used a nearby mailbox to help support his body, until his legs were strong enough to work on their own.

The kid was rolling on the ground, clutching for his back and moaning in pain. None of the other students surrounding them looked inclined to break up the fight. In fact, some were looking slightly bored now that Ryan wasn't on the ground getting the life punched out of him. He looked down to where he was lying and saw a small puddle of blood. The pain was obviously masked by the adrenaline coursing through his veins, but Ryan had to know how badly he was hurt. Probing his face he felt his swollen bottom lip and felt either blood or saliva, which he wasn't sure. Going farther, Ryan dared to feel his nose. Blood flowed from his nostrils like a leaky faucet. Luckily, it wasn't broken –he thought.

Ryan rubbed his head, trying to stop the pounding headache he had. From the corner of his eye, he could see the kid recovering and slowly getting back on his feet. This was madness; he couldn't possibly keep this up. Ryan scanned the crowd, hoping that someone would help him. As the kid got up, Ryan tried his best to back away, but bumped into the mailbox and stumbled gracelessly to the concrete.

As Ryan stared into the sky, the sun suddenly blinked out of existence. Somewhere off in the distance, Ryan heard a soft clicking noise, slowly rolling closer. He turned his head to try to get a better understanding of what he was hearing but everything seemed to be in a blur.

"You should've just said you were sorry." The kid said from above. Ryan saw the outline of his leg rising in the air. With a thundering jolt, the kid's boot slammed heavily into Ryan's face, smacking his head once again against the ground. Just before he blacked out, Ryan heard the yells of the campus police and felt hands grabbing at his jacket.

--

Ryan moaned softly and jostled around. He tried to move his arms so he could rub his head, but he was restrained somehow. When he opened his eyes, he immediately reprimanded himself. The stinging light flooded into view, momentarily blinding him. He didn't want to face the light again, but he knew he'd have to open his eyes at one point. Slowly, he opened his eyes little by little, allowing them to adjust at a slower pace. After what seemed like hours, Ryan had his eyes open and took in his surroundings.

He was in what looked like a hospital, a poorly supplied hospital. Looking down, he realized that he wasn't restrained per se, but tucked into an all white bed. Quickly he pulled his arms out from under the blanket and rubbed his throbbing head. It was a bittersweet comfort, more pain shot up from the cuts and bruises on his face, but he was just glad to be able to hold his head in his hands. Deep in his stomach, the pain was making him nauseous.

On a little nightstand to his right, a glass of water and painkillers were sitting. Greedily, he took the pills and chugged the water. With at least some water in him, he was beginning to feel human again, but only by a little.

Carefully, Ryan threw off the covers and positioned himself on the side of the bed. He let out a sigh and another moan, returning his head to his hands. When he looked up, he noticed that his glasses were on the nightstand as well resting next to the now empty glass. Luckily, they weren't broken, only a few new scratches decorated the lenses. Ryan rubbed the grogginess from his eyes before perching the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Hello?" He called out to no one in particular. "Anyone here?"

"Hmm?" A tall man with lightly browned hair poked his head out from behind a wall in front of Ryan. "Oh, you're awake, good."

He moved from behind the wall and dusted off his hands on his lab coat. The man started to walk towards Ryan, but stopped mid step and turned back around, disappearing only for a second behind the wall again. When he reemerged, he had in his hand a small flashlight.

"Almost forgot this." He twirled the flashlight between his thumb and index finger as if to highlight the importance of the flashlight. "Alright, sit still, I need to see if you have a concussion or something."

"Or something?" Ryan wasn't too thrilled that it seemed like he didn't know what he was doing. Being in the care of someone who was inexperienced wasn't what Ryan wanted right now.

"Figure of speech, now hold still." The man passed the flashlight over Ryan's eyes, holding it on each eye for a few seconds. "Eh…you look to be okay."

"How long was I out?"

The man clicked the flashlight off and scribbled something down in his notebook. "Well, a few hours since I got you."

"What's that mean?"

He stopped writing and looked at Ryan for a moment before continuing to write in the book. "It's standard procedure that a med student like myself, can't initially examine patients until the qualified doctors give the 'okay'." He swirled his hand in a circular motion as he continued. "So, in all actuality, probably no more than four hours; it could take about an hour for you to get to me."

Ryan let out a low whistle and looked around the room once more. "So, where are we exactly?"

"Oh, in one of the campus' infirmaries," His eyes finished scanning the page in the notebook and finding nothing wrong, he closed the book. "You got into a nasty fight out there. From what I hear with Bret too. Not the nicest fellow on campus."

"You're telling me." Ryan chuckled a little at his own joke. "That kid packs a mean punch."

"Yeah, but from what I hear you held your own for a little while."

"Yeah, until I was on the ground getting the crap beaten out of me."

"Well, Bret isn't one for the formalities. What'd you do to piss him off anyway?"

"Actually, he bumped into me and told me to say 'sorry'." Ryan shrugged as he spoke.

The man made a face as if to not be surprised. "Sounds like something Bret would do."

"Naturally, when I refused he sucker-punched me and the rest is…well the rest." Ryan sniffled and wiped his nose with his sleeve. "Great way to start the semester off, right?"

"Eh, it gets better. Campus police had to break up the fight, you're lucky they got there when they did you know? You were on the ground and had blacked out. Bret was about to kick your face in."

"Yeah, I seem to remember him not having a problem with that the first time." Ryan pointed to his face, more notably the cuts and bruises on his face.

"Yeah, we need more people on that force." The man stared at Ryan's face before clicking his pen and turning away. "Well, you look to be okay, I can clear you, but once I do you have to head straight to the Dean. He wants to see you right away."

"I figured he would." Ryan mumbled as he tested his legs and stood up. The man suddenly turned back around and held out his hand.

"I'm Derek by the way, first year grad student."

"Ryan: sophomore; undergrad." Ryan took Derek's hand and shook it. "I'd say it was a pleasure to meet you, but I think I'd rather have met under better circumstances."

"I don't really blame you", Derek turned slightly and pointed to the wall he had been standing behind when Ryan first met him. "Your stuff is over there; you should grab it and head off as soon as possible."

As Ryan started to walk toward the wall. "Wait, am I going to get billed for this somehow?"

"No, no, no, it's part of the tuition and besides, this place if free for the public because it's also a training facility." Derek chuckled a little at the question.

"Ah" Ryan stared at the strange man for a few moments before turning again, to where his belongings were. He swung his messenger bag over his head and started to head out.

"I hope to see you again, Ryan." Derek called before Ryan left the room.

"…What?" Ryan looked back over his shoulder.

"Oh, no not like that." Derek waved his hands as if to wipe all doubt from Ryan's mind. "I didn't mean in _here_. I just mean around campus. Not like I want you to get hurt again."

Derek laughed at himself, hoping to alleviate the uncomfortable moment.

"Oh, yeah, you too." Ryan said over his shoulder as he stepped through the threshold and out onto the grounds of the campus once more. He did hope to see Derek again; he was so far the only person who had been friendly to him. Maybe he might even have a friend here yet.

--

Reviews are appreciated. :D


	2. A Welcomed Mistake

Ryan passed his hand through his head of dirty-blond hair. Sitting outside of the Dean's office was nerve racking. All around people were sitting at desks, typing and filing papers. Occasionally, the Dean's secretary would glance up and smile when she saw Ryan looking. From inside the door next to Ryan, he could hear the muffled voices.

"Look Mister Doogan, I can't have you harassing my students. I don't care what happened; all I know is that I have a student in the infirmary. I'm praying he comes to soon and that I don't have to worry about any legal action. Need I remind you that you are on thin ice as it is?"

"No sir."

"Very well then, I swear if I even suspect you of doing something I won't hesitate to expel you, no matter who your parents are." After a few moments, Ryan could hear the sounds of a chair scrapping against a wooden floor. He sat up straighter and tried not to look at the two people emerging from the small office. Bret passed by without giving Ryan a glance. The Dean turned and looked at Ryan. His brown eyes matched the residual color of his now almost completely gray hair. A soft smile greeted Ryan, the creases in his lips told Ryan that he had practice with such formalities. "Ah, Mister Miller. Do come in."

The Dean waved his hand towards his door, holding it stiff when it pointed into his office. Ryan gave him a cursory nod and stood quickly. Just as he had suspected, the Dean's office looked exceedingly cliché. Two leather padded chairs stood before a mahogany desk with pictures of the man's family resting on top for the world to see. On either side of Ryan, built-in bookcases, each with numerous volumes lining the shelves so that there wasn't a single space left open, replaced the wall. Two tall lamps stood on either side of the room behind the Dean's chair illuminating most of the room and casting eerie shadows on the far side of the room, near the door.

"Please, have a seat." The Dean motioned at one of the two leather-padded chairs before walking behind his own desk, smoothing out his suit jacket, and taking a seat. Ryan plopped down unceremoniously into one of the chairs and looked at the man's nameplate that sat on the desk.

**Robert Goodman, **_**Dean of Raccoon University**_

Ryan forced a cough before he started. "Uh, Dean Goodman, I don't really know what happened. I was just walking from my dorm and all-of-a-sudden", Ryan waved a hand at the door to indicate Bret. "He just came out of nowhere."

"I believe you." Dean Goodman twined his fingers before his face and rested his chin on his thumbs. "You see, we have a lot of trouble with Bret. He is what you would call a 'trouble maker'. Sadly, as I'm the Dean and I have to worry about more than the wellbeing of my students, I cannot reprimand him. His parents contribute a lot to this school. In more ways than one, mind you."

Ryan expected as much when the Dean didn't expel him right away. "What exactly do they do?"

"Well, are you aware of Umbrella?"

"The pharmaceutical company?"

The Dean nodded and sat back in his chair. "Bret's parents are top researchers and they bring a lot of money into this school by doing their research here. Umbrella funds some of the Universities in the area -namely this one. So, while I don't happen to favor Bret, there are things here that are in work that are over my head." He held his hands out to either side as if to highlight the fact that he had no control.

"…So?" Ryan was at a loss for why he was telling him all of this. If he couldn't do anything why bother telling Ryan this?

Dean Goodman suddenly started to gather some papers together and clean off his desk. "So, I'd recommend you stay clear of Bret for the time being."

"Uh-huh." Ryan said, his own anger rising a little. It wasn't like he even started the fight, hell he didn't even get to finish it, but here he's being thrown asunder in light of "more important things". Without responding to Ryan, the Dean stood and held out his hand.

"I'm glad we had this talk then." He waited until Ryan got up and shook his hand. "I'd also recommend you get some sleep, you look terrible."

--

The soft pillow felt good against Ryan's aching head. Against his will, the events of the day couldn't wrench themselves from his mind. He played over the whole fight in his mind repeatedly. Shadows of the pain lingered with each transcendental hit. He groaned at the memory and turned in his bunk to face the wall.

Mentally pushing aside the thoughts of the fight, Ryan instead filled it with his schedule for classes the next day. The classes seemed interesting enough, although he couldn't help but notice that the University seemed to be heavy on the chemical and biological sciences. It must just be what they're known for. According to the Dean, Umbrella funded most of the research done here, and being as it is a pharmaceutical company, it was no wonder that this school would be heavy on chemistry. The only hitch was that as many chemistry based classes there were an equal or greater number of biology classes. Not the ordinary biology either, real abstract stuff.

Ryan turned over once more and was now facing the ceiling; he draped his forearm over his eyes to shut out the remaining light in the room. As exhausted as he was, he just couldn't fall asleep with all of the light in the room. He never was one to take naps in the middle of the day anyway.

"Who are you?" It was a feminine voice. Lost in his thoughts, Ryan didn't even hear anyone come into the small two-person dorm. He let his arm drop away and he sat up quickly. In the doorway, a girl stood, holding a suitcase and a book bag. She dropped her suitcase and pushed her shoulder length auburn hair behind her back. Her hazel eyes stared at Ryan, waiting for an answer. Ryan realized that he hadn't said anything and fought to find his voice.

"Uh…Ryan, Ryan Miller."

"Okay, Ryan, what are you doing in my dorm?" She put a hand on her hip and looked him up and down before taking her suitcase and tossing it on other bunk.

"I was assigned to this dorm…" Ryan trailed off when he realized that she wasn't listening. He realized that her question wasn't asked out of curiosity, but was phrased as an accusation.

"That's impossible; they don't put guys and girls in the same room."

"Well, it _is_ co-ed." Ryan joked. When the girl didn't laugh, he stopped chuckling and looked away to the nightstand where his glasses rested.

"I'm pretty sure they don't mean for it to be in the same room." She continued unpacking without looking at Ryan as she spoke. She suddenly stopped unpacking and let out a sigh. "I swear if they messed up…"

"Messed up?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, my name's Alex. They better not have thought I was a guy. Man would that be a kick in the pants…" Alex stared off into the distance. She spun around and plopped down on her bunk, facing Ryan. "So, you were sent _here_?"

Ryan nodded. "One-oh-six."

Alex twisted her mouth in frustration and looked at her suitcase. "Damn. I guess I'll have to talk to the resident advisor before the night's out."

"One of us will be out of here by the weekend, so I guess that'll be good." Ryan offered her what he could to make the situation a little more pleasant. "So, you have a last name Alex?"

"Nolan, Alex Nolan." She finally smiled and seemed to put the whole mistake behind her for the time being. She glanced out the window for a time before turning back and continuing. "So, then what's your major?"

Ryan was a little caught off guard by the question. "Uh, Legal Studies; yeah, I'm going to be a future lawyer."

"Ah, we _really_ need more of those." She said sarcastically. "I'm just kidding. That's good to hear, it's going to be tough."

"I assumed as much, but I'm willing to see it through." Ryan tsked to himself and fiddled with a zipper on his khaki cargo pants awkwardly. When the silence became unbearable, he looked up. "So, what's your major?"

"Oh, uh advanced chemical biology." She said casually.

"Ah, I take it we'll have loads of classes together then." Ryan joked. Alex laughed softly at his attempt at humor. It helped ease the tension, but ultimately just postponed the inevitable. Alex smoothed her hair against her back and laid her head against a ball of clothes she had just unpacked.

"Why'd you pick law?" She asked as she put her arm underneath her head.

Ryan followed suit and lay back down on his bunk. "I just kind of wanted to, I found myself winning some debates in class in high school, and I guess it felt like a natural progression. It doesn't hurt that I like the interior of a court room."

Alex smiled slightly. "So then, why _here_?"

Ryan was a moment in answering, but turned and answered her after thinking it over. "To be honest: scholarships. Raccoon University is paying for most of my schooling and housing, I can't beat that." Ryan waved at the room. "This isn't the best place I want to be, but it's an education right?"

"I guess so…" Alex trailed off in her own thoughts.

"And you?"

"Well, Raccoon is pretty-"

"Dudes, I just wanted to welcome you properly to the-whoa." In the doorway a young man stood, holding two cans of beer in either hand. His gray hoodie was pulled over his black hair and was zipped up tightly over a bright blue shirt with an adulterated version of the Superman logo on it. Loose fitting jean pants hung halfway down his buttocks and were only clinging on because of a plain brown leather belt with a decorative buckle. "I'm sorry dude; I didn't know you were already celebrating."

The man took in Alex with his brown eyes, and smiled. Ryan wanted to get rid of the man as fast as possible before he had to sit through any more awkward introductions. However, he couldn't help imagining the scenario the man presented, it wasn't altogether unpleasant.

"Yeah, so maybe some privacy would be nice." He gave the man a wink to enhance the bluff. Nodding absent-mindedly, the man placed the beers on a table near the door.

"You might want those." He said before turning and stumbling away, clearly intoxicated already.

Alex was sitting up on the side of the bed before Ryan even noticed she moved. "That was awkward."

Ryan sat up. "Yeah, you're telling me."

"Thanks for the save there." She flashed him a smile. Stretching as she stood up, Alex crossed the room to the door. "You can have these I don't drink."

"Me neither." Ryan said as he too stood up and took both beers. "I'll just go and pour them down the sink."

She nodded, but wasn't paying much attention. "I think I'm going to alert the resident advisor about our little mistake now."

Ryan only nodded and walked into the small bathroom between the two rooms. He popped the top on both beers as Alex walked out of the door into the hallway. With a fizz, both beers flowed into the sink.

He walked back into his dorm and plopped back down on the bunk. The sky outside his window had taken on a warm orange-red color. The room was slowly growing darker. Ryan couldn't stop thinking that with this being only the first day; the rest of the semester would be an adventure that he was looking forward to exploring. Somewhere deep inside, he'd hoped that he'd get more chances to talk to Alex. Thoughts about the day swam through his mind as sleep quickly embraced him.


End file.
